The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has an obsession with sex, and increasingly, as in this case, sexualizing God.

We Talk. We Listen is a website that is connected, at least informally, with the ELCA’s Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. An LSTC professor is the editor. An LSTC emblem adorns the homepage that also has multiple links to LSTC. And most contributors are connected to the school.

Last spring, the website posted a piece called “Re-Naming God and Smashing Idols” byFrancisco Herrera, a Ph. D student at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. After reading his garbage, and you should read the whole blog, one has to wonder what kind of insanity is permeating this once Christian denomination.

The article begins with the author telling about a class discussion where Song of Songs 2:8-13 was read. The question was asked, “If this excerpt from the Song of Songs is God speaking to us, what does it say about God?”

The author, Francisco Herrera replied “God is a woman… who loves us, who desires us, who wants to make love to us, who longs for us in a perfumed garden, eagerly waiting to give herself to us with passion and abandon.”

Then he writes, “And as I spoke, seduced by my own imagination, there I was – languishing in some highland orchard, hiding myself among the apple and peach blossoms – oiling my skin, lining my eyes with kohl, waiting for my Lord to come so that that he could delight in me, and I could delight in him.”

He continues with these gems,

“And yes, I was being provocative, at least for this crowd, but I believed my insolence towards the class honest and just. Despite the shocking nature of what I said, in truth, my comment was actually a classic example of biblical literalism. If this excerpt is God speaking to us, well then, God is a woman who wants to have sex with us – apples and turtledoves and young stags and all. No imagination necessary. What’s more, these soon-to-be-pastors’ well worn theological tropes – though socially acceptable – completely drained this holy Scripture of its unquenchable fire and, well, butchered its song. But what really took my breath away was how quickly students moved to hush me – scandalized by the idea that God could possibly be a sexually active woman.”

“And at that point I could truly appreciate how shocking and vital it was to speak of God not only as ‘not male,’ but in brave and shocking ways, indecent ways – because doing so exposes the hidden idols in our theology that so often blind us to the pain and suffering and oppression that we initiate and/or perpetuate.”

“Using such powerfully transgressive language for God often does a fine job of exposing destructive limitations in our theology, limitations that we have been taught, even inherited – and hence makes it easier for us to query them and, as with any idol, to smash them.” (read here)

What warped thinking and theology! Come on ELCA, you are championing this evil?

Rev. Dr. Linda E. Thomas, Professor of Theology and Anthropology, Chair of the LSTC’s Diversity Committee and Editor of “We Talk. We Listen” made this comment about Francisco Herrera’s article, “if we don’t open ourselves to myriad ways of talking about God, then we can very well sacrifice others on the idols of our own theological complacency.”

The "brilliant" theologians of the ELCA cannot imagine how the word "love" could have any meaning other than sexual intercourse. They're not only depraved, they're morons.

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Patrick Fletcher

9/14/2016 05:38:04 pm

"At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." (Matthew 22:30)

"This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness." (Ephesians 4:17-19)

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Charles Denger

9/14/2016 10:35:27 pm

"But you must realize that in the last days the times will be full of danger. Men will become utterly self-centered, greedy for money, full of big words. They will be proud and contemptuous, without any regard for what their parents taught them. They will be utterly lacking in gratitude, purity and normal human affections. They will be men of unscrupulous speech and have no control of themselves. They will be passionate and unprincipled, treacherous, self-willed and conceited, loving all the time what gives them pleasure instead of loving God. They will maintain a facade of 'religion,' but their conduct will deny its validity. You must keep clear of people like this. From their number come those creatures who worm their way into people's houses, and find easy prey in silly women with an exaggerated sense of sin and morbid cravings--who are always learning and yet never able to grasp the truth." (2 Timothy 3:1-7, Phillips New Testament)

"To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are corrupted. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their deeds; they are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good deed." (Titus 1:15-16 RSV)

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Kathy S.

9/15/2016 11:02:17 am

Is this theology or pornography? "... (I was) lining my eyes with kohl, waiting for my Lord to come...." Herrera tries to compare his fantasies to the Song of Solomon. Ugh.

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Pastor Michael

9/16/2016 04:47:43 pm

If Mr. Herrera receives his Ph.D. then LSTC will have redefined Ph.D. to mean "Piled Higher and Dumber." What ever happened to the three rules of Biblical exegesis - context, context, and context? You can't just take a text from a book like "Song of Songs" and then just "loosy, goosy" apply your imagination to it and call that theology! The ELCA has turned the crazy corner.

"54. Here then we have these two, the faith and the Gospel, that these and nothing else are to be preached throughout Christendom. Let us now see who are to be the preachers and who the learners. The preachers are to be angels, that is, God's messengers, who are to lead a heavenly life, are to be constantly engaged with God's Word that they under no circumstances preach the doctrine of men. It is a most incongruous thing to be God's messenger and not to further God's message. Angelus means a messenger, and Luke calls him God's messenger (Angelus Domini). The message also is of more importance than the messenger's life. If he leads a wicked life he only injures himself, but if he brings a false message in the place of God's message, he leads astray and injures every one that hears him, and causes idolatry among the people in that they accept lies for the truth, honor men instead of God, and pray to the devil instead of to God.

"55. There is no more terrible plague, misfortune or cause for distress upon earth than a preacher who does not preach God's Word; of whom, alas, the world today is full; and yet they think they are pious and do good when indeed their whole work is nothing but murdering souls, blaspheming God and setting up idolatry, so that it would be much better for them if they were robbers, murderers, and the worst scoundrels, for then they would know that they are doing wickedly. But now they go along under spiritual names and show, as priest, bishop, pope, and are at the same time ravening wolves in sheeps' clothing, and it would be well if no one ever heard their preaching."

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Kyle M.

9/18/2016 08:41:49 pm

Let's try out Francisco Herrera's brilliant hermeneutical method on some other passage of Scripture, like Matthew 23:37.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"

If this passage is Jesus speaking to us, well then, Jesus is telling us he's actually (literally) a mother hen. So you see, by employing the hermeneutic of biblical literalism, we can smash the old idol of God as Spirit (John 4:24) and arrive at a superior, esoteric understanding of God the Hen.

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Marvin

9/16/2016 04:55:23 pm

"God is a woman...who wants to make love to us...eagerly waiting to give herself to us with passion and abandon."

No one who actually believes in God could think up something that stupid.

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Michael Mechsner

12/22/2016 10:46:06 am

1Timothy2:12 - It all begins by twisting this Scripture from its plain meaning. Women should not be ordained to preach. It is the women's liberation movement that attacked this Scripture. Even the LCMC and the NALC allow the clear teaching to be misinterpreted and conclude that it is "settled theology." Allowing for women to continue preaching.

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Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. ​1 Thessalonians 5:21

Dan Skogen

Former ELCA seminary student and former ELCA member who is fed up with the ELCA's consistent mockery of God's Word.

If you have been helped and blessed by Exposing the ELCA's ministry, please help us continue to proclaim the truth of God's Word to ELCA members who need to hear it.